Jar of Kings - Momentum - Album Review - Instrumental Groovy Progressive Djent Metal from Latvia

Today we are featuring a promising instrumental modern progressive djent metal band, Jar of Kings, from Latvia, with, "Momentum" their debut studio album.

Jar of Kings came to my attention with their debut studio album, Momentum about a month ago, my experience started with their Monoverse music video, then listened to the album. First of all, it wasn't easy for me to understand everything properly about them, in this way, I wouldn't suggest judging the entire album by only watching Monoverse cause the album isn't all about what you hear happening in that song. In fact, Monoverse is one of the most technical and linear compositions in the album, and not one of my favorites.

After investing the necessary amount of time for Momentum, I feel like it was a great pleasure listening to it. Some of you might remember that I am very skeptical when it comes to "modern metal" in terms of originality, Momentum, in this way, proved that Jar of Kings is not one of those bands. Although the main influencer here is Animals As Leaders, which won't be surprising to hear for those who gave it a listen at least once, these Latvian gentlemen achieved to separate themselves from others, which I'll try to explain below.

Momentum stands out with its groovy side and dynamics above other things. The listener smoothly follows the story in Jar of Kings' guidance, aware of everything happening once the song begins, evolves, builds up, slows down, resolves, etc. All songs are mainly progressive, based on guitars, and accompanied by a powerful ambiance, whereas the album sound is modern and overly processed, familiar characteristics from the modern djent metal scene.

The tonality has heavy similarities with Animals as Leaders, whereas the general sound design also reminded me of them. We all have to accept the fact that this sound is a familiar sound we get to hear a lot lately (not exactly the same but you know what I mean). But still, after listening to the album carefully, I am convinced that Momentum is simply a great instrumental album.

Jar of Kings shows potential here with their approach, intelligent compositions, advanced musicianship, great performances, and modern sound production. They deserve respect for their creation without a doubt, a fantastic debut, a big step forward for the band. In the end, you come to a conclusion that the album sounds amazing, listening to all these fat, punchy, crunchy, and sometimes ambient guitar tones feels great.

On the other side of the coin, Jar of Kings started their careers in 2021 and already have a released studio album within one year. You know, sometimes, you feel like appreciating rather than thinking about what's wrong. First of all it's negative, a bad habit, and also a wrong approach. Momentum made me feel great first as a metal listener, but also as a metal guitarist with 25 years of experience. These Latvian gentlemen simply play the guitar better than most of us and that's one of the fantastic things about this band. I'd go to see them playing live if they were playing in my town.

The smartest thing would be from now on focusing more on the Jar of Kings personality in their upcoming album. Musically, I already heard many personal ideas in development, starting with Joe Satriani / John Petrucci tones, and ending with heavier, fattier like Meshuggah. The band is groovier than any other instrumental modern progressive metal bands out there, doing things in a gentlemanly manner.

Lastly, now is the time for this band to start thinking about the direction of their sound design. One of the guitar players, Artis Apinis, is also the sound producer of the band, and I am sure knows this better than me.

When I put all these into account, I'd like to say that I had a great time listening to Momentum album, maybe one of the best instrumental albums I listened to lately. Well-balanced melodic and technical guitar music with Animals As Leaders influences, performed by a talented band, accompanied by an impressive sound production, captivating dynamics, and powerful ambiance. Thanks for reading.

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